OBJECTIVETo observe the clinical efficacy of treating primary hypothyroidism by Fuzheng Fujia Mixture (FFM) with formula composing principles of warming and tonifying Pi and Shen, and eliminating blood stasis and removing turbid substances.

METHODSTotally 60 patients with primary hypothyroidism were randomly assigned to the treated group and the control group, 30 in each group. All were treated by Levothyroxine Sodium Tablet (LST) as routines. Those in the treated group took FFM additionally, 3 times daily, one month as 1 therapeutic course. The therapeutic efficacy was assessed after three therapeutic courses.

RESULTSAfter treatment the symptom scores were significantly reduced in the two groups (P < 0.05). The decrement was larger in the treated group than in the control group (P < 0.05). The dose of LST was significantly lower in the treated group than in the control group (P < 0.05). The blood lipids levels were significantly reduced in the two groups after treatment (P < 0.05). The decrement was significantly larger in the treated group than in the control group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONFFM could obviously improve the symptoms of hypothyroidism patients, reduce the replacement dose of thyroid hormone, and lower the blood lipids levels.

Adult ; Aged ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Humans ; Hypothyroidism ; drug therapy ; Lipids ; blood ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Phytotherapy ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo study the clinical features of non-epileptic seizures associated with cerebral palsy (CP) in children.

METHODSA total of 1 198 children with CP (age: 9 months to 6 years) were enrolled. The children with paroxysmal events were monitored by 24 hrs video-EEG (VEEG) to make sure the seizures were epileptic or non-epileptic. The symptoms, age, CP types and EEG features were observed in children with non-epileptic CP.

RESULTSFive hundred and seventy-eight children (48.24%) presented paroxysmal events. The seizures were epileptic in 231 children (19.28%) and non-epileptic in 322 cases (26.88%). In the 322 cases of non-epileptic CP, the paroxysmal events were of various kinds, including non-epileptic seizure tonic, seizure shake head, shrug shoulder or head hypsokinesis, cry or scream, panic attacks, sleep myoclonic and stereotyped movement. One hundred and fifty-eight (49.1%) out of the 322 children demonstrated nonspecific EEG abnormalities. One hundred and eleven children (34.5%) were misdiagnosed as epilepsy in primary hospitals. The CP children less than one year old showed higher frequency of non-epileptic seizures than the age groups over 1 year and 3 to 6 years. The frequency of non-epileptic seizures was the highest in children with spastic CP (168 cases, 52.2%), followed by dyskinetic CP (69 cases, 21.4%) and mixed type CP (65 cases, 20.2%).

CONCLUSIONSThe paroxysmal events in children with CP partially are non-epileptic seizures and it is important to differentiate non-epileptic from epileptic seizures. The frequencies of non-epileptic seizures may be associated with a child's age and CP type.

Cerebral Palsy ; Diagnostic Errors ; Electroencephalography ; Epilepsy ; diagnosis ; Humans ; Seizures ; diagnosis

OBJECTIVETo explore effect of acupuncture at Shaoze (SI 1) for treatment of postpartum hypolactation.

METHODSMulticentral randomized controlled and single blind clinical trial was adopted, and 276 cases were divided into a treatment group and a control group, 138 cases in each group. The treatment group were treated with electroacupuncture (EA) at Shaoze (SI 1) and the control group with EA at Shangyang (LI 1). After treatment of 2 courses, the therapeutic effects and changes of cumulative score of TCM symptoms, mammary filling degree, lactation amount, prolactin level were evaluated and investigated.

RESULTSThe cured and markedly effective rate was 97.8% in the treatment group and 24.3% in the control group with a significant difference between the two groups (P < 0.05). The treatment group in improvement of the cumulative score of TCM symptoms and the mammary filling degree, and increasing the lactation amount and the prolactin level were better than the control group (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONAcupuncture at Shaoze (SI 1) has obvious therapeutic effect on hypolactation.

Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Adult ; Female ; Humans ; Lactation Disorders ; blood ; therapy ; Pregnancy ; Prolactin ; blood ; Puerperal Disorders ; blood ; therapy

Objective To explore the application value of sedation-agitation scale (SAS) in broncoscopy in children by observing sedative drug dosage, adverse reactions and operator's satisfaction. Methods Children were divided into two groups, control group and SAS group, before broncoscopy. Midazolam was given a dose 0.10 ~ 0.30 mg/kg according to doctor's experience, without any assessment, while the SAS group were given an initial doses of Midazolam 0.10 mg/kg and then continued giving Midazolam until the SAS score reached 3 points to 4 points, but the maxium does less than 10 mg. The maxium dosage of Midazolam in both groups was less than 10 mg. Then compare the dosage and adverse reactions of Midazolam and operator's satisfaction between the two groups. Results 606 children were enrolled in the study, 364 were boys and 242 were girls. The age ranged from 1 month to 17 years, while the mean age was (3.97 ± 3.94) years. The body weights were from 2.4 kg to 56.0 kg, and the mean weight was (16.18 ± 10.65) kg. 301 children were included into control group and 305 children were included into SAS group. The gender composition, age range, department source and composition of the diseases of the two groups were compared, and the differences were not statistically significant. Compared with the control group, there was no severe adverse reaction such as respiratory depression or excessive sedation in the SAS group, and the average amount of Midazolam was lower than the dosage in control group [(0.21 ± 0.06) vs (0.26 ± 0.05) mg/kg];the intraoperative agitation, delirium, other adverse drug reactions and the number of involved in the operation, and operation time were reduced, while the differences were statistically significant. The operator's satisfaction is higher, but the difference was not statistically significant. Conclusions SAS can be used in assessment of conscious sedation level in children's bronchoscopy, and SAS can guide the individual use of Midazolam, reduce its dosage and adverse reactions,also can improve the operator's satisfaction during the operation. SAS is worthy of application in children's conscious sedation in bronchoscopy.

OBJECTIVETo understand HIV rival suppression and drug resistance (HIVDR) among AIDS patients who were receiving antiretroviral treatment (ART) in Dehong prefecture, Yunnan province.

METHODSAll AIDS patients who were aged over 15 years and with experience more than six months on ART by the end of 2012 in Dehong prefecture, were enrolled to receive testing for HIV viral load in plasma and genetic mutations associated with HIVDR.

RESULTSA total of 4 390 AIDS patients were qualified for the study according to the selection criteria, of whom 3 964 (90.3%) finally participated in the study. Among them, 2 307(58.2%) had CD₄(+) cell counts more than 350 cells/mm³. 3 169 (79.9%) patients showed undetectable plasma HIV viral load which was lower than the detection threshold. Those who had the following factors as:resided in Ruili city, being female, older than 45 years of age, married, heterosexually infected with HIV, having received ART more than 5 years, and CD₄(+) cell counts >500 cells/mm³, were more likely to have undetectable plasma virus load, with the differences statistically significant. 402 (10.1%) patients had plasma viral load ≥ 1 000 copies/ml, of whom 353 (87.8%) were successfully amplified and examined for HIVDR. Among them, 198 (56.1% ) were identified to bear genetic mutations associated with HIVDR. Most mutations were related to the resistance to nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) or non-nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs), with M184V and K103N most frequently seen. 12 patients (3.4%) were found to have mutations resistant to protease inhibitors (PI). Data from multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that the period of receiving ART and the initial ART regimen could both significantly predict the occurrence of HIV resistance.

CONCLUSIONViral suppression was highly achieved among ART-prescribed AIDS patients in Dehong prefecture,Yunnan province. However, among those who did not show effective viral suppression, the proportion of HIVDR was high, underscoring the needs for health education so as to improve the adherence to drugs as well as for improving testing for viral load and HIVDR among AIDS patients.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome ; drug therapy ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Anti-HIV Agents ; therapeutic use ; Drug Resistance, Viral ; genetics ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Mutation ; Viral Load ; drug effects ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether Omicron BA.1 breakthrough infection after receiving the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine could create a strong immunity barrier. METHODS: Blood samples were collected at two different time points from 124 Omicron BA.1 breakthrough infected patients and 124 controls matched for age, gender, and vaccination profile. Live virus-neutralizing antibodies against five SARS-CoV-2 variants, including WT, Gamma, Beta, Delta, and Omicron BA.1, and T-lymphocyte lymphocyte counts in both groups were measured and statistically analyzed. RESULTS: The neutralizing antibody titers against five different variants of SARS-CoV-2 were significantly increased in the vaccinated population infected with the Omicron BA.1 variant at 3 months after infection, but mainly increased the antibody level against the WT strain, and the antibody against the Omicron strain was the lowest. The neutralizing antibody level decreased rapidly 6 months after infection. The T-lymphocyte cell counts of patients with mild and moderate disease recovered at 3 months and completely returned to the normal state at 6 months. CONCLUSION Omicron BA.1 breakthrough infection mainly evoked humoral immune memory in the original strain after vaccination and hardly produced neutralizing antibodies specific to Omicron BA.1. Neutralizing antibodies against the different strains declined rapidly and showed features similar to those of influenza. Thus, T-lymphocytes may play an important role in recovery.
Humans ; Antibodies, Neutralizing ; Prospective Studies ; SARS-CoV-2 ; Breakthrough Infections ; COVID-19 Vaccines ; COVID-19 ; T-Lymphocytes ; China/epidemiology* ; Antibodies, Viral